No one faces more persecution in the United States and around the world like unborn children — who are victimized by abortions 1.2 million times a year in the United States alone. Worldwide as many as 40 million or more abortions take place annually.

Responding to that need for greater recognition, Operation Rescue has announced that it is awarding the “Pre-Born Children” with the 2012 Malachi Award.

“As we near the 40th memorial of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that decriminalized abortion in America, we can look back and see how the public attitudes have changed toward pre-born babies,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue.

He told LifeNews, “In 1973 most folks thought that these developing children were just clumps of cells or blobs of tissue. Even as late as 1996, only a third of Americans identified themselves as pro-life. Through the advances in science and technology coupled with the hard work of the Pro-Life Movement, the humanity of a pre-born baby is no longer in question in an age when a child’s first baby picture is very often an ultrasound image.”

“Today, a full 50% of our countrymen proudly embrace the ‘pro-life’ moniker despite the fact that abortion is the most polarizing issue facing our nation. Our nation’s laws are beginning to reflect this new-found concern for the plight of the pre-born through a record number of pro-life laws enacted over the past two years,” Newman said,

Each year Operation Rescue presents the Malachi Award to those who are impacting the nation for the cause of life. The award is named after an aborted baby that was discovered in an abortion clinic dumpster, whose image has been used nationally to bring attention to the desperate plight of the pre-born. The name “Malachi” means “my messenger.”

“Looking back on 40 years of abortion on demand, images of pre-born children have been perhaps the greatest messengers for the cause of Life,” said Newman. “Now that their humanity cannot be denied, we must continue the work to ensure that they are fully protected by law.”

Previous recipients include Kortney Bythe Gordon, an abortion abolitionist with Students for Life in America who was killed in a tragic car accident last year; Eileen Smith, who crusaded against abortion after her daughter was killed by abortionist Rapin Osathanondh; Jim Pouillon, a pro-life activist who was gunned down during a peaceful protest in 2009; Lila Rose of Live Action Films for her documentation of Planned Parenthood abuses; Dr. Johnny Hunter of LEARN, who is exposing the devastating effects of abortion on the African-American community; Leslee Unruh, who spearheaded efforts to ban abortion in South Dakota; and Phill Kline, the former Kansas prosecutor whose abortion investigations led to the only criminal case ever filed against Planned Parenthood.